


Wisdom to Know the Difference, The

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-01-15
Updated: 2007-01-15
Packaged: 2019-05-31 10:35:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15117578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: "Not to make light Sam but you've thought that Tish was pissed at you on like five different occasions and it turns out you were wrong."





	Wisdom to Know the Difference, The

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

  
Author's notes: Police Chief Jack Mannion is mentioned but this is not a crossover with The District.  


* * *

Sam reached around in the dark of this ringing cell phone. He had no idea what time it was but he had been home for a few hours. It was a steamy July night and the midterm election was getting ready to go into full swing…this might be the last good night’s sleep he got before Thanksgiving. Finally, turning on the lamp Sam saw and heard the hard rain. He grabbed the cell phone.

“Hello.” He mumbled.

“Sam!”

Tish’s voice sounded frantic and it woke the Deputy up immediately.

“Tish, are you alright?”

“Sam, my apartment has been robbed. I just called the police.”

“Oh my God, what happened?”

“I just got home…I…I really don’t know. Someone…”

“Its OK honey.” Sam threw the sheets back. “I'm getting up and coming right now. Is the Secret Service there?”

“Yeah. I'm waiting in the hallway because I can't go in there.”

“I will be there in 15 minutes. Do you want to stay on the line?”

“No, my agents will look after me. Just hurry.”

“I will.”

Sam clicked off the phone, dressing quickly in sweatpants and a Princeton tee shirt. He threw on socks and sneakers before rushing out of the door. He hailed a cab and tried not to get soaking wet. Finally able to look at his watch on the nine-minute ride, Sam saw it was 1:44 in the morning. He took a deep breath and rushed from the cab to her building. He found her in the ransacked apartment with two police officers. Agents Kent and Monroe were still outside the door and they let Sam through.

“Tish?”

“Who is this?” the white male officer asked.

“My boyfriend. What were you asking me?”

“Did you notice what was missing?”

“I haven’t checked the whole place and I didn’t want to touch anything.” Tish said, sitting on the couch with Sam. “Just glancing I know some jewelry, camera equipment, and my laptop for sure. I had at least $1500 and that drawer where I kept it was emptied.”

“Do you have any friends who might want to steal from you?”

“What? No, of course not.”

“Are you sure?” the female officer, also white asked.

“Yes. No one I know would do something like this to me.”

“Is there any particular reason you have bodyguards?”

“That’s personal; it has nothing to do with what happened tonight. My apartment was robbed.”

“Where were you tonight?” the male officer looked her up and down. Tish was dressed in a nearly backless silver sequined top and black slacks with high heels. “Who were you with?”

“I went to a party at Platinum with my sister and some of her friends. I came back to this.”

“Anyone know you weren’t going to be home?” the female officer asked.

“Not really. I don’t schedule things with people; I am a grown up.”

“No need to be snippy.”

“You haven’t seen snippy yet.” Tish muttered.

“Why was there so much cash on the premises?” 

“What do you mean?”

“Are you perhaps involved in some illegal activity you don’t want to discuss?”

“That question is out of line!” Sam exclaimed. “Why are you interrogating her?”

“I was the victim.” Tish said. “You have some nerve. Do you think I am a drug dealer…a high priced whore perhaps? You didn’t even call other officers to dust for prints. I want you to get the hell out of my house. I’ll come to the station myself tomorrow and report this directly to the Chief of Police.”

“I think the Chief of the DC Metro Police has better things to concern himself with than petty robbery.”

“With more than five missing items over $1000 I think this is more than petty robbery.” Sam replied. “And if that does not get his attention I'm sure a Senator’s daughter being mistreated by his police will.”

“Senator?” the female cop smirked and Sam wanted to smack her. “We don’t have any Afro-Americans Senators on Capitol Hill.”

“Get out now!” Tish exclaimed. “I mean it!”

The police shrugged and left the apartment. Tish sat back on the couch, put her face in her hands. Sam thought she might be crying but when she looked up her face was dry.

“Goddammit!” she exclaimed.

They were quiet for a while after that but Tish stood up.

“I cannot stay here. I don’t even have a door.”

“Yeah, I know. You're staying with me tonight.”

He put his arm around her but felt the cold breeze; he moved away from her.

“Lets just get out of here.” He said. “We will try to sleep and make sense of it in the morning.”

“Make sense of what Sam!” she shouted. “That the fucking cops don’t give a shit that someone ransacked my apartment because I'm black? They think I'm a drug dealer or a slut. Then you turn around and name drop so they could get a good smirk. They're probably still laughing about it.”

“What?”

“Oh to hell with it. I'm going to stay at Alice’s. She is probably still awake.”

She didn’t want to stay with him and that really hurt. He didn’t know how make her feel better…no one had ever treated him that way because of his skin color. These past couple of months had been hard on Tish.

“I guess the agents can take you over there. If you don’t need me for anything, I’ll just go home.”

“Bye.”

He waited for a few minutes and when she said nothing else he just left. On the short cab ride home, he got a text message. ‘I love you and it is not you that I am angry at. Cross my heart.’ That did not make him feel any better; he just put his phone in his pocket.

***

“Hey daddy, you got a minute.”

Tish walked into her father’s office on Saturday afternoon.

“For you my darling I have at least ten.”

“Wanna tell me what you're doing here on Saturday?” she asked.

“My God, you sound just like your mother. I'm working on some things for midterms. Your mother said it was alright or I wouldn’t be here.” He kissed her cheek. “How are you?”

“I was robbed last night.”

“Oh dear God. Are you alright Tishy? Did you report it?”

“That’s why I'm here. There was a robbery in my apartment last night and when the police arrived, they were less than helpful. They tried to suggest one of my friends did it, or that I sold drugs. It was a bad night. I ended up staying with Alice.”

“Was this really a robbery? Could it possibly have had something to do with White Pride?”

“I don’t think so daddy. I think I just got unlucky. I want to go and report it directly to Chief Mannion. He needs to know how his officers treat the people they are supposed to be helping.”

“I will make a phone call.” Ted McTiernan picked up his office phone.

“Wait.” Tish said. “Sam was with me last night; I called him.”

“Alright.”

“He did a little namedropping and it kind of pissed me off.”

“What do you mean?”

“He said my father was a Senator and they got a good laugh out of that.”

Ted sat beside her, took her hand.

“You were angry at the police and turned it on Sam because you could not turn it on them.”

“I think I may have. He wanted me to stay with him and I went to Alice’s instead. Daddy, I just needed…”

“Someone who could identify with you. Who could understand and help you express your rage. You needed a black person, or at least Alice.”

“Yeah, I guess I did.”

“In the early days, when things got rough around the edges with mom and I she went straight to Aunt Pat and Tina. I don’t want to imagine some of the things they may have said about whitey when I wasn’t in the room.” He laughed. “We loved each other and just got to the point where we talked with each other and not other people. Then we moved past it, became Ted and Melinda and not black and white. You and Sam will get there too, but you have to know it is not an overnight process. There will be more obstacles to cross and sometimes they come out of nowhere.”

Tish nodded though she didn’t feel at all confident.

“Its 2000, this just should not be happening. Sam I just love each other and that should be all that matters.”

“I know darling, and in the end it is. You have to remember though that ignorance and fear know no decade, no century. You fight it with your love; bring children into the world that will fight it with theirs. They will bring children in the world and so on. I don’t know if it will ever really go away but each generation is supposed to be smarter than the one before. I hope that you and Sam will never have a cross burned on your lawn. Your mother and I went through so much but we never forgot how much we loved each other, and still do.”

“Children daddy. Geez, nice subtlety.”

“That is not what I meant, but since you brought it up…”

“Cut it out.” She gently poked him and they both laughed.

“I got you to laugh, didn’t I?”

“Yeah. Look, I never want to push Sam away; I love him so much. I'm just angry that there will be things he can never fathom and he will beat himself over the head trying to because Sam is just that kind of guy. I also am afraid to go home.”

“We are going to move you out of there. There are other places to live Tishy…safer places.”

“That is my home.”

“I know. We are going to do something, I promise. First I’ll call Mannion.”

“OK. Then let’s get some lunch. Am I interrupting anything major?”

Ted was never too busy for his children, especially a child in crisis. He was hungry; chicken salad from Krupin’s sounded perfect right now.

“Lunch sounds good. Come and give me a hug; I really worry about you guys sometimes.”

“I'm fine.” She jumped into his arms. “I love you.”

***

“Donna, can I talk to you?”

The senior assistant looked up from her sandwich. It was a busy Monday at the White House with persistent rain; everyone was in a crabby mood.

“What's happening hot stuff?”

“Tish’s apartment was robbed Friday night.”

“Oh God, is she alright?”

“We haven’t spoken much since it happened. The police were less than cordial and I think my whiteness may not be such a good thing right now.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah. Needless to say, she is not going to want to go back to that apartment and feel unsafe so I thought I might ask her to move in with me.”

“Oh Sam, I think that is terrific.”

“You don’t think it’s too soon? I mean, we haven’t even been together a year. Not to mention that our relationship is now cause for her to be under Secret Service protection. She may resent me.”

“Tish does not resent you.” Donna said in a matter of fact tone. “She loves you as much as you love her. Anyway, come September the Secret Service is going to back off if there is no direct threat right?”

Sam nodded.

“You did not see her face on Friday Donna. I think she’s really pissed at me.”

“Not to make light Sam, but you’ve thought that Tish was pissed at you on like five different occasions and it turns out you were wrong.”

“All five times?” he asked.

“Pretty much.”

“Hmm, interesting. Are you sure it was all five times?”

“Positive.” Donna said nodding. “Ask Tish to move in with you if you feel comfortable. I bet she will say yes.”

“Yeah?”

“Definitely.”

“I've been thinking about this for a while now and I figured out that you are right at least 95% of the time. How do you do it?”

“It’s a gift.”

Sam smiled. He knew he needed to call Tish; they had not talked since he left her apartment on Friday night. He knew she and her father went to the Chief of Police on Saturday. Yesterday and today Alice and Sebastian were helping her move her things out of the apartment and into storage. She was sleeping in her sister’s spare room.

“I think I better call her.” He said.

“Good idea. She wants to hear from you; she just doesn't know what to say. Having your home violated is a very traumatic experience Sam. Add it on top of what has been happening to the both of you for the past couple of months and Tish must be pretty shaken up. Hearing from you is going to make her day.”

***

Tish held him tight to her, letting go of the breath she held for a few days. She, along with Bash and Alice, worked all day in the apartment. Now he was back at their parents and Alice was off with her new boyfriend. Having a glass of hot tea and cuddling on her sister’s oversized couch sounded like the perfect evening after the weekend she had. Seeing Sam made it even better.

“I wanted to call you about 50 times this weekend but I just didn’t know what to say. I felt so…white. God Tish, I felt like I was the one who wronged you. All these crazy things that have been happening have been all my fault and I…”

“Don’t say that. I would never, ever blame you for any of this. I love you and when shit gets tough, we will hold on together. Understand?”

Sam took hold of both of her hands and nodded.

“I wanted to run something by you. I've been thinking about it for the past few days. Well, actually longer than that but…with all that’s happened. Oh hell, move in with me.”

“Huh?”

“I heard a rumor you were looking for a new place.” He said.

“Sam.” She sighed. “I love you but…”

“But what?”

“I'm Ikea and you're Ethan Allen. I'm Banana Republic; you're Brooks Brothers. I…”

“Love you. I love you and I want to wake up with you everyday. I want to go to bed with you. I want to trip over your stuff and watch you create masterpieces on rainy Sundays. I want to skim your novels and wish your friends would go home. I want to take baths together, make dinners and argue about leaving the toilet seat up.”

“I really hope you don’t do that Sparky.”

“I did when I lived alone. I have someone else to consider now.”

Tish smiled.

“Can we make a little deal?” she asked.

“I'm all ears.”

“New furniture and décor. Let’s start a new place together.”

Sam bought his Ethan Allen Sophisticate living room and bedroom about a year and a half ago. He immediately thought of three people who would want to purchase it.

“Deal. I think Ikea just sent me their summer catalog. I'm sure we can find something we both like.”

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Tish asked.

“More than anything. I want to be with you and you want to be with me.”

“Cockiness is small doses is very hot Sparky.”

Sam pulled her close and kissed her passionately. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I love you Sam Seaborn.”

“I love you too. Did you and your father talk to the police chief?”

“Yeah. They put detectives on my case and went over the apartment with a fine-toothed comb. Its just stuff though, it can all be replaced. Except my rosary…I really need that back. My brother Teddy gave it to me when I was confirmed. It means so much to me. They are checking all the local pawn shops and fencing operations; checking similar MOs in the neighborhood. I'm holding out hope. Mom told me to pray to St. Anthony of Padua.”

“Who?”

“The patron saint of lost and stolen things.”

“He should definitely be some help I would think. What were your plans for tonight?”

“Movies on the couch. I was trying to choose between Kids and The Last Days of Disco. I'm a huge Chloe Sevigny fan; I'm talking girl crush proportions.”

Sam smiled, telling her to grab one of them; they would take it back to his place.

“Leave a note for Alice. I think we should go home.”

“You're going to like saying that, aren’t you Sparky?”

“Very much.”

***


End file.
